Various timing analysis tools, including for both static and dynamic timing analysis, have been developed for use in designing integrated circuits. Traditional tools perform timing analysis at selected points along paths in the circuits. Typically, such points in the path are evaluated to ascertain timing information about the stability of the path at such points.
One aspect of static timing analysis is to ascertain certain timing information known as slack. Slack generally corresponds to a measure of the difference between the expected arrival time and the actual arrival time of a signal at a point of a given path. For example, a positive slack number usually identifies by how much time a timing constraint has been met, whereas a negative slack number identifies an amount by which the timing constraint has been violated. Based on the results of timing analysis, including slack and other timing information, such as clock skew, a designer can implement changes in the circuit design.